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Plot[]

Part One: Ena has spent a frozen night in the vestry with the amenities cut off pending the demolition. She still refuses to tell Mr Ironfield where she's going to live afterwards, just asking if he has plenty of petrol in his removal van. She insists that a hapless Ironfield helps shift the harmonium. Jerry tells David that Irma hardly stayed on the ice at the rink but spent most of the night in the snack bar. Nevertheless, she wants to go again. Dennis is depressed at Jenny's departure. Hilda questions Annie on her views about women working as she's thinking about devoting all of her time to Stan. Annie worries that Hilda's going to hand in her notice but Jack reminds her that it will deprive Stan of his beer money. Ena remembers her many years in the vestry. She lets the removal men pack the van before telling them she's merely moving across the road to No.5, much to Minnie's delight. Dennis apologises to the Walkers and after several weeks is allowed back into the Rovers. Jack and Annie see that he's depressed and Annie advises him to go to London to find Jenny. He resolves to set off immediately. The residents enjoy watching the mission being flattened but Ena breaks down as she sees her old home being demolished and walks off in tears.


Part Two: Hilda turns up late to see the final stages of the demolition. The vestry begins to be torn down. Agnes Greenwood turns up in the Rovers and tells Stan it's all over between Hilda and George. He hurries her away. The demolition concludes. Albert thinks the rest of the street ought to come down. Ena is down after the loss of her home but she takes her temper out on Annie and refuses a drink from Len, branding it as conscience money. The Ogdens and Albert enjoy the warm bonfire made from the remains of the mission. Minnie presents Ena with a key to No.5 and she looks out at the site of her old home. At the ice rink, Jerry and Irma bump into Myra. Jerry is utterly thrown by the encounter, but Myra is pleased to see him.

Cast[]

Regular cast[]

Guest cast[]

Places[]

Notes[]

  • First appearance of Myra Booth since 20th May 1964.
  • This episode is notable for the first filming in the yard on Grape Street behind the Granada Television studios, the future home of the programme's outdoor set. The Mission of Glad Tidings set was erected and bulldozed down before the film cameras. Careful use of camera angles prevented the viewer from seeing that no other buildings were erected in the yard at this time. Les Chatfield directed these sequences. Over the next few months, the maisonettes were built on the spot where filming had taken place and in Episode 768 (24th April 1968) the first building on the terraced side of the street was shown when the corner shop was seen in its outdoor setting for the first time. The set, in both wooden and brick incarnations, lasted until 1982. All the other scenes in this episode on the street were, as per the programme's standard practice, recorded in the studio.
  • The episode has a "thought track" as Ena Sharples looks over the vestry and thinks back over old times in the premises.
  • Further location film work was conducted for the scene of Jerry Booth ice skating at the rink with Myra Booth watching him from the seats. The snack bar scene was recorded in studio.
  • Stan Ogden makes an oblique reference to his wrestling match against Ian Campbell which occurred in Episode 398 (5th October 1964).
  • TV Times: No synopsis appeared in the magazine between Episode 702 (6th September 1967) and Episode 755 (11th March 1968)
  • Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 6,000,000 homes (19th place).
  • This episode was repeated by Granada on Wednesday 28th December 1983 at 10.20pm as a tribute to Violet Carson who had died two days previously. It omitted the final scenes at the skating rink and ended on the shots of Ena Sharples gazing forlornly at the remains of the vestry from No.5's front window and the bonfire outside. This repeat gained 6,913,000 viewers (chart placing unknown).

Notable dialogue[]

Annie Walker: "You know, Mrs Ogden, likening me to your Stanley could really be considered slander."
Hilda Ogden: "Oh, don't worry, Mrs Walker, Stan wouldn't mind."

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Len Fairclough: "If you were my wife, I wouldn't let you go out with any big fat slob."
Irma Barlow: "If I was your wife, I'd be married to one, wouldn't I?"

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